The actress and the pirate
by rosehill
Summary: A little past fic about two characters who might have never met in canon.


Synopsis: a little past fic about two characters who might have never met in canon.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Galactik Football_ or any of these characters.

_The actress and the pirate_

It was 6 p.m. and Keira didn't feel like getting up and going to work. She used to enjoy acting when she was younger but the more time passed and the more was wondering why she was carrying on trying to really appear in a movie. Stand-in… what a lousy job! She felt so miserable…

She got up anyway. She went to the bathroom and stared at the mirror. The face in front of her couldn't be described as ugly but if she looked closely, there were nearly invisible lines that didn't used to be there. Her first wrinkles. Of course she knew that some things are more important than a pretty face. She really believed that a couple of wrinkles don't make you a monster. She just wanted to be appreciated for her human qualities, not for her good looks. But she had to be realistic: a woman cannot hope to become a famous actress if she looks older than twenty-nine.

_Now I am becoming shallow_, she thought. _What happened to the former me, the girl Norata fell in love with? He didn't care if my feet were a bit large or my hips a bit… Oh, I must stop thinking about him. I ran away from him when he needed me the most so I don't deserve him._

The actress showered quickly, got dressed and went back to her room. She was about to make something for breakfast when a strange noise made her jump. She turned back and nearly shouted in fear: an unknown man was standing in front of her and gesturing her to remain silent. He was clutching his arm and blood was dropping onto the carpet. Keira thought she had already seen his hard features and blond hair somewhere… but where?

"You're hurt", she whispered, staring at his arm. "You need to see a doctor."

"You won't call any doctor", the man answered between his teeth. Suddenly, Keira realised why he looked so familiar: she had seen his face in the newspapers dozens of times. It was Sonny Blackbone, the leader of the pirates.

This was impossible. She was a normal person with an ordinary life. She couldn't be visited by a pirate, by _the leader of the pirates_ in her tiny room. But he was standing in front of him, his face wincing in pain, and Keira couldn't stand the sight of people suffering.

"OK, no doctor", she said faintly. "But let me attend this arm." And she went to the bathroom, came back with towels, warm water and soap and started cleaning the wound. It looked as if the pirate had been shot in the arm and Keira felt like fainting or vomiting but she cleaned it anyway and bandaged the wound carefully.

"Thank you", he said eventually.

"You need to eat and drink something now. Tea, coffee?"

"Coffee, please."

She nodded and got up. Just now, Sonny was feeling self-conscious. He wasn't used to rely on people who weren't pirates but the Technoïd had shot him one hour ago and he was alone. He needed to hide somewhere. His pirate instinct had told him that this flat was a safe place to hide. Just now his pirate instinct was telling him that he could definitely trust this woman. She may look fragile as a flower but she would help him anyway. The problem was, he didn't like the idea that he was endangering an innocent bystander.

"Here you are", she said, handing him a cup of coffee.

"Thank you."

"What happened to you?"

She regretted her question immediately. Asking a pirate how he had been shot, how stupid! But he didn't look upset.

"Work accident", he said simply.

"Oh… sorry."

She tried to think of something to say but she couldn't find anything. This was too weird. Sonny could guess how embarrassed she felt. He was about to say something when someone knocked at the door. Sonny held his breath.

"The Technoïd", he said.

"How do you know that?" Keira whispered, completely panicked.

"Pirate instinct. Don't do anything."

Keira tried to remain calm and composed but the knocking on the door wouldn't stop. It sounded as if they were going to break the door if she didn't answer. Keira thought quickly. She couldn't let this man leave the room now as he hadn't recover from his wound yet but she'd have to open the door sooner or later as her nasty neighbour would probably tell the Technoïd she was home now if they asked. If she answered, they would probably search the room and…

"I leave", the pirate whispered while trying to get up. Keira grabbed his arm.

"You can't leave now", she protested. And she was right. He couldn't run now. He would get caught and the pirates would be lost without their leader. What could they do?

"Lie to them", Sonny said suddenly. Someone else wouldn't have taken the risk but Sonny's intuition was practically inhuman. He knew the woman would find a plausible lie and save his life, and he didn't know how he knew it.

Keira took a deep breath. She _was_ an actress after all. A mad idea crossed her mind and she ushered the pirate into the bathroom, put a bathing-gown over her clothes and spread water over her face and her hair. Then she opened the door and tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Hello?" she said to the tall, stern-looking man who was staring at her. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes, ma'am. We have proof that a pirate is running somewhere and we go to search your room."

"A pirate?" And she remembered her acting methods. _I am not playing a role. I am _really_ afraid of this runaway pirate who could be anywhere. But I'm not going to let this man enter because…_

"I'm sorry. There's only me and my lover here."

"Your…" the man noticed Keira's outfit and rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma'am, but I have to search this place anyway."

"No, please! He's under the shower now and…"

She giggled nervously. The man put two and two together and gulped.

"OK", he said. "We'll wait. I'd like to talk to your boyfriend."

"No, please! I, I mean…" And Keira was suddenly in the verge of tears. "I love him and he loves me too! But just now he doesn't want to break his wife's heart so I have to wait. He'll propose me sooner or later but if someone sees him now…"

The man looked disdainful. This woman had to be really stupid to have an affair with a married man and then cry about it! Surely, Sonny Blackbone couldn't be hiding by such a young innocent.

"OK, have a good day!" he said coldly just before turning back. Keira closed the door, locked it and fainted.

Ooo

When she opened her eyes, she was lying and her bed and Sonny was watching her carefully. She was starting to wonder if this was not a dream.

The phone rang. She didn't dare moving. She knew that if she'd answer now, her voice would sound strange. They both listen to the answering machine, and then a voice was heard:

"_Kitty… Kathy… oh, whatever your name, I believed you wanted to work in the movie industry, and you don't even show up on time! You're fired, you failure! Ask Natalie for your things and don't ever show up again_!"

Keira turned her face against the wall and realised tears were running down her face. It wasn't that she regretted that lousy job, of course. She was even glad not to see those nasty people again. But… but… _There are nicer ways to tell someone she is dismissed!_

Sonny didn't say anything. He just went back to the bathroom, found some paper tissues and handed them to the former actress.

"Thank you", she stuttered.

"He's wrong, you know."

She tried to regain her composure. First she was fired and now she was making a mess of herself in front of a complete stranger! She had to put herself together now.

"Wrong about what?" she asked while sitting down.

"You're not a failure."

"How do you know about that?"

Sonny just knew it. He could spot a good or a bad person at first sight. But now a bit of an argumentation was needed:

"You saved my life. There are very few people who would have dared doing what you did. You're better than him."

The young woman nodded. Indeed, she had helped this pirate, but that was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Pirates help the world as a whole so she had to help the pirates if she had the opportunity.

"Thanks", she said simply. "How is the arm?"

"It feels better now. You did a good job with it, Keira."

"You know my name?"

"It's written on this photo."

Keira glanced at said photo on the wall. It looked as if it had been taken ages ago: that pregnant woman who was smiling in her husband's arms looked so unlike her! She didn't know that Sonny was thinking of good old days too, when he was happy and his wife was pregnant from their first child. And then, the explosion destroyed everything…

Keira looked at her 'guest'. Unlike him, she was not a natural at reading people but you cannot survive among sharks for a long time without learning a few things. He might be upset just now but he didn't want to talk about it. She had to change the subject.

"I'll make some tea. Would you like a cup?" she asked.

"No thanks, but water would be fine."

"OK", she said, getting up.

"You're from Akilian, aren't you?"

"Well, could you please stop reading me, just for a moment? It's a bit unnerving."

They both laughed nervously but Sonny wasn't in the mood for laughing. _So, this lovely woman is from Akilian. She was obviously happy before the explosion but now she's sad and away from her loved one. I destroyed her happiness and she doesn't know about it. I know there's no point in apologizing or whining about it. Sad as it is, I can't change the past. I just have to work to make a better future._

Sonny left the flat a few hours later. For a moment, he considered erasing Keira's memories of the day but he didn't. After all, she needed to remember that she had helped a pirate in need to feel stronger. His team found him easily and shortly afterwards, they were back on Shiloe.

The next day, Keira awoke much calmer. She had decided to leave the movie industry. The pirate she had met had ideals; he did something that was _really_ important for him. Why couldn't she have a more meaningful life, too? She was going to work on what was important to her.

When she looked at her reflection in the mirror, Keira noticed a slight hint of silver in her dark brown hair. She also realised that she didn't care about it.

_The end…_


End file.
